Cars 2

[Jawa]

For almost two years I had heard Cars 2 was by far Pixar's worst movie, a wretched heap with no redeeming qualities. This year, I decided to celebrate Easter by punishing myself with a viewing of Cars 2.

 

First off, prior to seeing Cars 2, I considered Cars to be Pixar's worst film, and their only film that I would not give at least an A- to.

 

The soul of the first Cars film was Paul Newman. The soul of this one is....... Larry the Cable Guy?

 

Cars 2 has many problems. The message sucks (if you're annoying, it's your friend's fault, not yours!). Larry the Cable Guy plays Mater as less of a lovable idiot that the script calls for and more of a Jar Jar Binks. Owen Wilson is boring. Mater and Lightning have no chemistry. The villain is forgettable. I predicted who the villain was the first time he was onscreen. I saw the film two days ago and can't remember his name.

 

But Cars 2 has a lot to like. The creators of this film managed to take a boring first installment with boring lead characters and basically no plot and revamp it into a moderately entertaining spy thriller with more than a few laughs along the way. I loved Michael Caine's character, and the situations Mater found himself in were classical examples of situational irony.

 

Is it Pixar's worst film? Probably. But it has something the first Cars lacked: a interesting premise. Even if it is Pixar's worst film, it's not that much worse than the first film. My guess? After Toy Story 3, critics were waiting for a chance to end Pixar's winning streak and this lent itself most easily to that.

 

Cars 2 is still miles ahead of anything Dreamworks has shat out, other than maybe Kung Fu Panda and the first two Shreks.

 

Seriously? This got 38% on Rotten Tomatoes?

 

B-

[Gopher]

Dreamworks films worse than Cars 2: Shark Tale, Shrek 3, and Bee Movie. That's it. 

[DAR]

It's not a bad film but it's a very ordinary one. I suppose it's no coincidence this is the only Pixar film I have yet to own. C+

[John Marston]

I don't this movie is as bad as its reputation. It is still a fun and watchable film. 

[StarSaber]

The international/spy concept appealed to me. What didn't (and the reason I don't look to fondly at this movie) is Mater (Larry the Cable Guy). I greatly dislike his style of humor. His character is horrible, IMO, and him in the first was bad enough than they made him the centerpiece of the sequel? That didn't work for me at all. Not as bad as its reputation has made it out to be as it still was still fun to watch.

 

B-

Edited June 30, 2013 by StarSaber

[Lordmandeep]

Imo Larry was the most annoying character since Jar Jar Binks and then they decided to make a film all about him.

 

WHY>?

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Could someone explain to me how this happened? Like how it turned into a mess? Wasn't there a different director before John Lasseter?

[Goffe]

the question is, was the old version of Cars 2 (before Lasseter took the command) even messier?

[John Marston]

I rewatched this movie with my young cousins when they were over. It's not great but it is still entertaining. No where near as bad as made out

[AniNate]

the question is, was the old version of Cars 2 (before Lasseter took the command) even messier?

 

I don't doubt it with a first-time director who had had very little to do with the franchise beforehand.

[AniNate]

Pretty much the same piece of garbage it was in 2011. The writing of Mater's character arc is just horrible and he makes for a thoroughly unappealing screen presence for much of the film's runtime. If there was any intrigue to be had from the spy riff, it's rendered moot by the protagonist's idiocy.

[Goffe]

Just occasionally funny and always gorgeous to look at, Cars 2 is a sequel that has a problematic message and gets the story even worse than its predecessor, which wasn't very good in that department to begin with. Those action sequences were pretty exciting, tho. 40/100

[MrFanaticGuy34]

A lot of people has considered Cars 2 to be Pixar's weakest film to date........but I don't think it's as bad as the critics are making it to be. I can understand it's problems, though.

 

As someone who really liked the first Cars.....it's still very harmless. The action was enjoyable and some of the new characters are interesting, like the 2 spy-cars. Mater is still funny and likable as a character.

 

Is it Pixar's best film? No. Is it their least-received film to date? Yes. But it didn't stop me from enjoying and liking it. It is as fun as the first one. It's not perfect.....but it's not atrocious either.

 

B+

Edited August 19, 2016 by MrFanaticGuy34

[Blankments]

"You are the bomb! That's what I'm trying to say here! You've always been the bomb! And you'll always be the bomb!"

 

Much like its protagonist, Cars 2 accidentally stumbles into being a good film. It's highly obnoxious with an incredibly stupid plot. The spy storyline is bizarre considering the preceding film; it's akin to if Citizen Kane 2 was an action/sci-fi movie. Mater is a horrible lead and the lessons the film teaches are utterly moronic. Yet, this all works in its favor. The Cars universe is inherently stupid, and this film realizes it in all its glory. It rapidly desecrates the consistent nature of the world in a sheer loony way. The action is ridiculously over-the-top and brutally violent for a G-rated film. Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy are humorously terrible lead voices for an action animation, and Caine and Mortimer add some silly credentials as spies with way too many gadgets to fit in their small car bodies.

 

Really, the film comes across as an accidental satire on the state of CG-animation. You've got the overcomplicated gags, horribly ridiculous amounts of characters to sell toys, and life lessons that really should never be taught at all, underscored by unfortunate social (including racist!) implications and the insane mess that is the Cars universe. Yes, Cars 2 is, by traditional judgment, the worst Pixar film by far, but if one views it as a spectacular failure, they'll find a hilarious parody of how formulaic CG-animated movies can be, with legitimately great action and so-stupid-they're-brilliant jokes that leads to a highly watchable mess-terpiece. B-